Lamia
by starlitnocturne
Summary: A patrol sent to Longstead to help with a mysterious illness goes missing. Raieya is determined to help. (Basically a write in to 4x08 "Lamia") As always see profile for complete story listing in chronological order.
1. Concerns

Raieya sat in the window of Gwaine's chambers, watching the sky grow dark as she tried to sort out her thoughts. Two days ago Gwaine had ridden out with a patrol, sent to accompany Gwen, Merlin, and the lady from Longstead. She knew that their purpose was to help the people of Longstead who were dealing with some type of sickness. However she also thought that they should have returned by now. Logically Raieya knew there was a number of reasons why they might be late in returning but she couldn't help but feel a little worried. What if they had fallen ill also? What if something had happened to them on the road? As far as she knew, none of the group had sent word of any kind since their departure. Surely they would've informed Arthur if there had been any problems.  
>Of course, she could be wrong. Perhaps word had been sent to Arthur and she had simply not heard about it. There was one way to find out. She could just ask Arthur himself. Raieya couldn't think of any reason why he would want to keep that information private. Besides it couldn't hurt to ask.<br>Making up her mind, Raieya quickly finished putting away her lute from dinner and hurried off to the king's study.

Reaching the heavy wooden doors that led to the king's study, Raieya was relieved to see there was no one save the guards standing in the hall.

"Is the king available?" asked Raieya, nodding slightly to the guards.

"I believe he is," answered the one on the right. "Give me your name and I'll alert him of your presence."

"Raieya," she replied. "Thanks."

The guard nodded, knocked on the door, and disappeared into the room.

"The king will see you now," said the guard, returning to his post.

Raieya thanked the guard once more as she passed into the room, the large doors closing behind her with a thud.  
>"Sire," said Raieya, dropping in a curtsey.<p>

"Raieya," Arthur replied warmly, gesturing for her to rise. He stood from his desk and walked over to her. "What brings you to my study so soon after dinner?"

"I was just wondering if you had heard any news of the patrol you sent to Longstead," said Raieya.

"I haven't," he answered, looking slightly troubled.

"Oh," Raieya replied, somewhat disappointed. "Perhaps they have run into some bad weather on the road then."

"No," said Arthur, shaking his head. "I've already checked. A patrol passed through the bridges yesterday."

"Do you think they too have fallen ill?" asked Raieya.

"If any of them had, then surely they would've sent word," countered Arthur.

"They would need Gaius," agreed Raieya.

"Indeed," said Arthur. "Which is why I have decided to take him and some of my men to Longstead at first light to find out what's going on."

"I want to go," said Raieya quickly. She was well aware she was overstepping her boundaries but she didn't care. She did not want to be left behind at the castle while everyone else went to Longstead.

"Raieya-" began Arthur reproachfully.

"Please," interrupted Raieya. "I want to help. I can keep up with you and I can fight if there's trouble."

Arthur looked her over, furrowing his brow.

"Please," she said again. "If something's happened I want to see for myself."

"Alright," agreed Arthur after a moment. "You may go but there are some conditions. First, you join us as Gaius's assistant. You help him some now, correct?"

Raieya nodded.

"Good," said Arthur. "Second you may bring your sword but you must follow my orders. You will stay with Gaius unless I say otherwise."

"I understand," said Raieya, nodding again.

"Go and get some rest," said Arthur. "Be prepared to leave at first light."

"Thank you," she replied, dropping into a curtsey.

Arthur nodded to her and Raieya rose and turned to go.

Raieya returned to Gwaine's chambers with a feeling of satisfaction. Not only had her concerns been shared by Arthur but she would get to ride out to Longstead in the morning. Eager to pack, Raieya headed over to the wardrobe to retrieve her bag. Opening the right hand door of the wardrobe, Raieya slid it out from the top shelf. She placed it on the bed and then turned to see if she'd left any of her traveling clothes there. Since she spent more of her nights in Gwaine's chambers than her own, she couldn't remember what clothes she put up where. Pushing aside a couple of her dresses, she found a pair of her breeches and some of her shirts. Raieya grabbed them from the wardrobe, laying out the breeches and a shirt for the morning and packing an extra shirt in the bag. Next she grabbed her boots and sword from the bottom of the wardrobe and set them with her clothes.  
>Packing complete, Raieya began to get ready for bed. She wasn't really too tired but she knew it would be hard to get up at dawn if she didn't get enough sleep.<p> 


	2. Longstead

The next morning Raieya rose early, quickly gathering her things and hurrying down to the stables. She found the grooms had readied her horse and had her waiting. Raieya mounted and joined the rest of the group in the courtyard. It wasn't long before Arthur and (to Raieya's dismay) Agravaine led them off.

They kept a fast pace much of the morning before breaking off abruptly in the afternoon. Arthur quietly dismounted from his horse, while one of the knights walked ahead on foot. Raieya looked over curiously at Gaius, who also dismounted. She looked around, realizing why Arthur had stopped. The woods were silent. Raieya slid quietly from her horse as well, turning to grab her sword from its sheath in the saddle.

"Raieya," hissed Gaius warningly. "What are you doing?"

"There might be trouble," countered Raieya in a whisper.

"We've got Arthur and the knights," argued Gaius. "Put it away before you get in to trouble. Let's see what's going on first."

Reluctantly Raieya placed her sword back in its sheath and turned to follow Gaius.

"Is there anything wrong, Sire?" she heard Gaius ask Arthur.

"Listen," Arthur replied, holding up a hand.  
>The woods remained completely still.<br>"No bird song," commented Arthur. "Nothing."

"Sire," called the knight who'd scouted ahead. He motioned for Arthur to follow him. Arthur grabbed his sword and motioned for the rest of the knights. Raieya looked toward her sword but Gaius shot her a warning look. She and Gaius followed a bit behind Arthur, approaching what had been someone's camp. There were men strewn across the ground in all directions, all dead as far as Raieya could tell. She guessed by their clothing that they were Southrons. Gaius bent and glanced at a few of the bodies, as did Arthur and the others.

"Does anything strike you as odd about these bodies?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, sire," Gaius replied. "There's not a mark on them."

"Not so much as a scratch," agreed Arthur.

"Over here my lord," Agravaine called to Arthur.

They followed Arthur over to where Agravaine stood by a broken wagon turned on its side.  
>"Southron slave traders by the looks of it," said Arthur.<p>

"What were they transporting?" said Agravaine. "Some sort of an animal?"

Gaius looked up at the scratches in the wood.  
>"These marks were made by humans," he said. "And whoever they were, they'd do anything they had to to get out."<p>

Raieya looked at the marks, remembering briefly the number of times she'd avoided slave traders to save herself from such a fate. She was interrupted from her musings when a man near the wagon groaned. They hurried over to examine him.

"Can he be treated?" asked Arthur, kneeling by the mans head.

"Aye," replied Gaius. "I can try, sire. But I'll need time and somewhere to work."

"Then he comes with us," Arthur announced. "We'll make Longstead in a matter of hours."

Two of the other knights came over and picked up the man, securing him to one of their horses.

"What do you think, Gaius?" asked Raieya as the group took off once more at a fast pace. "That's no ordinary attack nor sickness that I'm aware of."

Gaius nodded. "I cannot say for sure until we examine the man, but I suspect there was something else involved."

"Sorcery?" asked Raieya.

"It's possible," agreed Gaius.

Raieya grew quiet then, feeling a sudden sense of urgency to reach Longstead and find out what had happened to the others.

True to Arthur's word, they reached Longstead a few hours after finding the Southron camp. The town head looked relieved to see Gaius. He and Raieya were ushered into what she guessed was the town hall where several men lay motionless on make shift beds. Raieya glanced around but saw no sign of the others. Willing herself to focus, she turned her attention back to Gaius, and the town head, John.

"And they've been like this for four days?" Gaius asked.

"Each day they grow weaker," nodded John.

"Merlin is right," said Gaius. "This is no ordinary illness. There is sorcery at work here."

Gaius turned to Raieya then, instructing her on what medicines he needed her to prepare. Raieya set to work, mixing the herbs and returning them to Gaius. The pair worked through the evening, methodically stabilizing each patient. The Southron proved to be the most interesting. Raieya was gathering up and organizing Gaius's supplies when he began to stir. She listened in the background as Gaius questioned him. The Southron told Gaius about the girl he and his men had been transporting. He suspected she had bewitched them and caused fighting to break out between them. Then she broke out of the wagon, killing them all but him. When he was finished with his story, Gaius thanked the man and motioned for Raieya to leave with him.

"What kind of girl could do all that?" asked Raieya, as they stepped out of the town hall.

"Not a girl at all," answered Gaius. "I believe it was a lamia. A creature of the Old Religion that would disguise itself as a girl, with the ability to control the minds of man."

"So this 'lamia' is loose in this area then?" asked Raieya. "Attacking the men who are traveling in the woods?"

"I'm afraid so," Gaius replied. "I'm going to go speak to Arthur now. I want you to go and report our progress to the village elder."

Raieya nodded, although she wished she could go with Gaius to hear what Arthur had to say.

John was pleased with Raieya's report that Gaius's treatments appeared to be working. He showed her to a small house where she and Gaius would be allowed to stay until they were ready to leave Longstead. Raieya arranged her blanket on the small cot, waiting impatiently for Gaius to return.  
>After what seemed like a long while, Gaius came into the small cottage.<p>

"What news?" asked Raieya eagerly.

"The Camelot patrol left here yesterday morning," he began.

"Then they should've made it back to Camelot last night," interrupted Raieya.

Gaius held up a hand to silence her. "Arthur is aware. He is leading the knights off on a search in the morning."

"Then I must gather my things," said Raieya instantly.

"No, Raieya," said Gaius. "We are to stay here and finish treating these people. Arthur will come back for us."

"No," argued Raieya. "I can't stay here. I need to know what's happened. I need to help them search."

"Arthur would not allow it," said Gaius. "It's a job for the knights. Your job is to stay here and help the people of Longstead."

"The lamia attacks men though, right?" said Raieya, changing tact. "What if it attacks Arthur and the knights? If I went it wouldn't attack me. I could make sure it doesn't get any of the knights."

"It attacks men, yes," agreed Gaius. "But Arthur is well aware of the danger. He wouldn't want to risk taking you along. If you got in its way it would likely attack you anyway."

"I'm not a risk!" Raieya argued. "I can defend myself!"

"The lamia is a very powerful creature, Raieya," said Gaius, calmly. "The high priestesses couldn't control it. I doubt that you could. You must trust Arthur and the knights. I'm sure that they will do everything to find our missing friends. In the meantime we still have patients to attend to here."

Raieya gave Gaius a nasty look but she didn't argue any more. She knew she was lucky to get to come this far. But she'd really expected to find Gwaine as soon as they arrived. How could she stand waiting on other people to find him when she knew the danger Gwaine and the others might be in was even worse than she had thought?


End file.
